What happened
On 16 June 2017, a Pacific Aerospace Ltd FU24 Stallion, registered VH-EUO, was performing aerial application tasks near Redhill, New South Wales. The mission involved spreading fertilizer across several properties in the Upper Turon region. Following an early morning refueling stop at Bathurst Airport, the aircraft arrived at a private airstrip in Redhill at approximately 0830 to begin operations.
After completing the first application task, which involved spreading roughly 40 tonnes of fertilizer, the crew prepared for a second task by loading seed and fertilizer into the aircraft. The aircraft departed for the first flight of this second session at 1357, returned to reload, and took off again at 1405. Shortly after this second departure, at 14:06:59, the aircraft's flight data transmission stopped.
When the pilot failed to return to the loading site as scheduled, the loader attempted to establish radio contact without success. After searching the takeoff area and the application site by vehicle, the loader alerted emergency services. A search operation involving police and a helicopter began that afternoon but was suspended due to darkness. The search resumed the following morning with the assistance of the NSW Police State Emergency Service and local volunteers.
At approximately 0757 on 17 June, the wreckage was located in thick vegetation on a hillside east of the work area. The pilot was found deceased at the scene. There were no witnesses to the impact.
Findings
No specific contributing factors or conclusions regarding the crash were provided in the source material.